Brad -
If your discs were in fact a dull red, you were real close to setting
something on fire, probably the wheel bearing grease first. I rode in a
Camaro once where the front brakes tightened up, and the guy kept driving
it....I jumped out at a light to look at the brakes, the discs of which were
glowing a dull red (at night). We took off, and about 1/4 mile later, I
could see the reflection of something flickering on the side of the road;
the hub was on fire. He stopped, we threw some dirt on it, and it went out
without damaging paint or anything. It went home on a roll-body truck
after that.
Sounds like you got away with it, but I wouldn't get them THAT hot again....
Lannis
-----Original Message-----
From: BradFarr@aol.com <BradFarr@aol.com>
To: morgans@autox.team.net <morgans@autox.team.net>
Date: Friday, November 26, 1999 1:08 PM
Subject: A brake story
>Last year, one set of pads became fouled with oil from the front
suspension,
>so I replaced the pads.
>
>A few weeks ago, the car ('95 Plus 8) began to pull to one side, and so I
>took a quick look from the outside, and cleaned away any excess oil/grease
>from the suspension. I wanted to see how badly they pulled to one side, so
I
>did several hard stops on a deserted road. The pulling seemed to decrease
>after several hard stops, so I tried an experiment. I drove to the local
ski
>resort (still closed, road deserted), and on the way down I made repeated
>hard stops -- 60mph to ~5mph -- all the way down. The brakes began to
smell,
>then fade, till I got to the bottom, by which time the brakes were smoking,
>the discs were dull red, and braking ability substantially reduced.
>A drove a few miles to let the brakes cool, and tested them. The result:
>normal braking ability, no pulling to one side.
>
>So, my questions to this knowledgeable group:
>Does this make any sense as a way to rid brake pads of oil?
>Is it likely to cause (or have caused) any damage? (warped rotors, melted
>lines, glazed pads?)
>Apart from the questionable practice of driving a car to the point of brake
>failure on a public road, it was easier and more fun than changing the
pads.
>I already give my Alfa an occasional "Italian tune up," is this the
>equivalent "English brake job?"
>Thanks,
>Brad
>
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